A Last Hurrah in Xela

To reconnect with friends, speak some more Spanish, and visit a familiar place, I headed to Xela for the week. Wow, the machismo is intense here! It's amazing what a two week break will let you forget. After the guy running the lavandaria where I head my clothes washed tried to kiss me on the mouth to wish me luck with my travels, a man tried to kiss my arm as he crept by on his bike, and a minibus tried to convince me to get in with the two guys manning the rig. They said they would take me anywhere for free. No thanks!

So, I leave Xela and my mixed ability to speak Spanish with sorrow and relief.

But, I can say with assurance, that my hostel was, without a doubt, the best, hippest place in Xela: Los Chocoyos. It's a hostel, a cultural center, an artisan shop. It has a bar, hosts events, and has a shared kitchen where pretty much anything goes. Some places have weird rules about shared kitchens...this one is straight forward.

So, here was were I've lived for the last week: Los Chocoyos.

Los Chocoyos is only a couple of blocks from downtown, so it's possible to have an early night if you wish. It's also across the street from Blue Angel Video Cafe, where you can watch a movie any time of the day and has some of the cheapest, healthiest food in town. El Ifinito, a super hip vegetarian cafe and coffee/Internet bar is the next door over.

The entrance is captivating and welcoming.

Art gallery, wi-fi bar, restaurant, drinks, and lots of natural light (which sometimes acts like a greenhouse and gets unbearably hot).

Murals fill the place, along with art exhibits that change every month.

A Salsa company practices on the dance floor most mornings. OK, yes, the 7am practice with blaring salsa music was a bit much!

Each room has four beds in it...one downstairs in the cool (literally cooler as it was build of rock), and three upstairs in a loft area. The bathrooms had hot water, so clean I could eat off the floor, towels, soap, shampoo,...

I chose the middle bed. I liked the brown bed throw and somehow being in the middle seemed just right. Comfy beds, free bottled water...a great place to stay.

Jaibalito Aid Relief

As is the reality of my life, I was up early, very early, like any other morning. It appeared to be a normal, quiet morning in the tiny lake town of Santa Cruz la Laguna...until the boats started arriving. One after another came filled with food, beds, wood, blankets and any other major commodity that fits into the category of "aid relief." Locals came together to unload from boats to trucks, to town. Jaibalito was to call the municipality buildings of Santa Cruz their temporary new homes.

Soldiers kept order, police kept peace, both helped with the "forced" evacuation that started the night before around 1am...moving people in the night to their "new" homes in the neighboring town. Why the middle of the night? Why not? Agatha hit Jaibalito hard, and a week after the storm, landslides where still occurring. Perhaps word that deemed the town unsafe didn't get to the correct channels until the middle of the night???

Camera and film crews infested the docks to document the national aid relief...along with the appearance of the first lady of Guatemala. It was quite a scene in such a little town. Men worked all day loading, unloading, carrying, laughing...and ultimately many of them got to drink a beer at La Iguana Perdida purchased by...the mayor, I believe? Here are some shots of the morning's events.

Jaibalito...the aftermath

There were two pueblos around Lago Atitlan that got hit especially hard: San Antonio and Jaibalito. Jaibalito was small...around 500 people. They had forced evacuations during and after the storm, including one of the days that I was in Santa Cruz.

Only the very center section of town survived. Otherwise, two huge landslides/rivers formed on both the left and right side of the pueblo...leaving once green, lush earth gray, rocky and barren.

The force with which the rivers of rock and mud came down the mountains left no houses standing.

I'm not sure who is going to buy this piece of land right in the center of where one of the landslides occurred, but I guess it's worth a try: Se Vende = For Sale.

Walking up through the main center path from the boat dock, it is shocking to see where the center of town got swept into the lake.

Continuing up the hill, rock and dirt inundate the once grassy growth, including the banana grove below.

The center of town where kids once played basketball was mostly destroyed...and after another landslide on this side of town a week after the storm, a forced evacuation occurred along with impressive aid relief (see blog post tomorrow).

Along with the mud and rocks that slid down the mountains into the lake, so did all the garbage that has been listlessly sitting pretty much everywhere around the lake.

Garbage litters not only the shores, but the waters as well.

Yes, the boat to the left is in water...and that is all garbage and storm remnants just hangin' in the water. One of the various early mornings I was up on the lake I saw the man that cleans up the dock area scoop shovel full after shovel full of garbage into the water. There is the thought that eventually it will sink and then we won't have to worry about it. Meanwhile, lake gets sicker and sicker.

It will take a cultural shift for Guatemalans to understand how to and the importance of keeping the water clean. Without it, they and their ancestors would not exist. Without it, the tourists that come bringing money would not come.

On the flip sides there are places that recycle and compost. Plastic bottles filled with plastic wraps and then sand get used as building materials where concrete would be solely used. Only time will tell.

La Iguana Perdida - Santa Cruz la Laguna

A place of refuge. Santa Cruz is a small pueblo on Lago Atitlan with a population a little less than 6,000. It is up a steep hill, with gorgeous views. The lake shore hosts a number of lovely places to stay.

I have been in Guatemala for two months, and my stay at La Iguana Perdida has given me the safest feel since coming to this country. You know that feel-good bonfire feeling of summer camp? Or a place you used to go as a kid for vacation? Or a best friend's house that feels like home? It's comfortable, there are real people that are being real to you and with themselves. There is room for partying, going to bed early, staying up all night, waking up for the sunrise. One is not better or worse than the other...they are all part of the whole. That was my experience at La Iguana Perdida. And I thank everyone that had a part in it.

Miriam. Sunshine, bed 7. First, I was greeted by smiles and acceptance when I walked up to La Iguana Perdida off the boat...as if I was an old friend getting to know the ropes of a new home.

There is nothing particularly special with this dorm ... it was simple, yet perfect (you can get a bed in a dorm with electric for 35Q a night or without electric for 25Q a night). But I will say that there are studies of the positive psychological effects of nooks. I found my nook. Safe, comfy, immaculately clean and in a little piece of nature.

The main building has a number of perfect places for doing whatever it is you'd like to do. A main dining room/bar/restaurant area (along with Internet)...

...a movie/reading room with fireplace, books, bright walls and gorgeous windows...

a front patio with tables and a coach overlooking the water...a couple of outdoor sitting areas by reception...OK, I enjoyed them all...

even sitting on the stone walls post sunrise.

You can also find the ADI Dive Shop at La Iguana Perdida in the second building. Hammocks, a pool table, chairs for lounging in the sun as your mind drifts with the water, darts, yoga, oh...right, the dive shop! Some of the cheapest diving certification and dives around. By around I mean in the world.

Let's go back to safety though. I am not a napper. I climbed into one of these hammocks about two hours after arriving. I promptly fell asleep. I was still coping from experiences in San Pedro...and found a safe place to process...feel, let go, shake it off, ... and remember how to fall into trust again.

But, it wasn't the location that did that...it was the people. The instant community. Each night, if you choose to participate, there is a community dinner. Huge, healthy, delicious...and together.

On Saturday nights if you are feeling feisty, you can dress a little scandalous as our two lovely staff Ross and Bui did...!Que bonit"a"! Yes, he's wearing drawers. And it's always generally appropriately sassy, as children are running around in various outfits too.

As Mike and Ryan (right) taught Rosio (with draw-on facial hair) and I to play Yahtzee, we INTERACTED!! Community. Talking. Sharing. Laughing.

Rosio, Bui (sorry if I'm misspelling your name!) and I made some new signs for the place. Crafty time! Rosio and I were sporting some black oil pastel mustaches in order to prep for the night activities.

I give a cheers to new friends, to the intention and sharing that the owners put into creating and maintaining this place, and again, to community. Safe community. Gracias. Keep on keeping on...

I hope to see you soon.

Jarachik, San Pedro La Laguna

 A lighter side of life. This is my hostel in San Pedro la Laguna. It's locally run, but word on the expat trail is that the guy (foreigner) that owned it died and the folks that owned the land took it over. Now the locals get paid less that work there. There's also word that the family owns the block but won't hire anyone outside of the family.  Greed and guilt are two words very common around here.

Jarachik means dream in Tzutuhil, the local dialect.

You enter via their lovely restaurant full of lush greens and flowers.

This is where I sit a lot. On a bar stool talking to the folks that work here. It's good for my Spanish and they are delightful. It seems that they are just as delighted to chat as I am. Perfect!

At night the tables light up with candles and string lights surround the gardens.

If it's not raining, a little bonfire is made. And the food is delicious. The green and mango curry are my favorites. Two thumbs up for the women in the kitchen...cause only women are allowed in the kitchen.

This is my room. It's quaint...and still hasn't quite dried out from the hurricane. If you notice the black mold above the window in the upper right of the photos...funk is in the air. It could be much worse!

Besides the awesome restaurant and hang out area out front, the rooftop terrace is also a bonus of this place. With little plants and a view of the lake, it doesn't get much better than this.

Equipped with chairs, a table and candles at night. Yes, it's totally legit to order from the bar/restaurant and then take it up to the roof.

You might be saying, "what the heck is that?" It's also what accompanies most gringo places around here...a wine bottle filled with cigarette butts. Ah, tourists!

A view of rooftop life here...extremely important for drying clothes, washing, and storing stuff.

This is the house right beside Jarachik...a pile of miscellaneous junk, which can always...perhaps find a use in the future. Terraces are my favorite. You get a whole new perspective on life.

Cheers!